The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for the potential dismissal of Steve Bannon's criminal conviction for contempt of Congress, according to multiple reports. The court filed a brief order on Monday that vacated a lower court ruling upholding Bannon’s conviction and sent the case back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for further consideration.
Key Takeaways
The U.S. Supreme Court vacated a lower court ruling upholding Steve Bannon's contempt of Congress conviction, sending it back for reconsideration. This clears the way for dismissal in the interests of justice.
- The Supreme Court vacated a lower court ruling and sent Bannon’s case back to the appeals court
- Bannon served four months in prison after refusing to comply with a House committee subpoena about January 6
- The Trump administration requested the dismissal, citing 'interests of justice'
- Bannon also pleaded guilty to defrauding donors for his border wall fundraiser
Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, was convicted in 2022 for refusing to submit to a subpoena from the House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection. He served four months in prison in 2024 after his appeals were denied and paid a fine of $6,500. The Supreme Court's order now allows a trial judge to act on the Republican administration’s pending request to dismiss Bannon’s conviction and indictment “in the interests of justice.”
The Trump administration had moved to dismiss Bannon’s conviction, prompting the Supreme Court's action. The justices also issued a similar order in the case of former Cincinnati Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld, who was pardoned by Trump last year.
The Guardian, Reuters, NPR, CBS News and UPI reported that Bannon had initially argued that his testimony was protected by Trump's claim of executive privilege. However, the House panel and the Justice Department contended such a claim was dubious because Trump had fired Bannon from the White House in 2017, making him a private citizen when he was consulting with the then-president in the run-up to the Capitol riot.
The Guardian, PBS, HuffPost and NPR also reported that Bannon separately pleaded guilty in New York state court to defrauding donors to a private effort to build a wall on the U.S. southern border. This conviction is unaffected by the Supreme Court's action.
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